The defendants, all US-based corporations, brought a motion to stay the plaintiff's copyright infringement action for lack of jurisdiction.
The plaintiff alleged that the defendants' animated film 'INSIDE OUT' infringed his copyright in a short film of the same name.
The court applied the Van Breda test and found a real and substantial connection to Ontario for the defendants Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures Inc., and Disney Shopping Inc., as they carried on business and allegedly committed secondary copyright infringement in Ontario.
The motion to stay was dismissed for those three defendants but granted for the remaining defendants due to a lack of connection to Ontario.
